Tracy Ocasio vanished three years ago

Tracy Ocasio's family hopes one day they will be able to bring their missing daughter home.

Ocasio vanished May 27, 2009 after leaving a MetroWest bar with James Hataway, who has been labeled the only suspect in the case.

"The worst nightmare for a parent became a reality to our family," her father Joe Ocasio wrote in an email. "Our daughter Tracy Ocasio was taken from us."

Ocoee police have tracked down dozens of leads in the case and searched hundreds of acres and several lakes in an effort to find the missing woman.

Ocasio met Hataway a few weeks before her disappearance at the same bar she was last seen leaving. Her parents reported her missing when she didn't come home that night and her cell phone was turned off.

Investigators found her car abandoned a few blocks from the home Hataway shared with his disabled father. Ocasio's cell phone last pinged in the vicinity of Hataway's home.

Investigators questioned Hataway about Ocasio's disappearance, but he claimed she dropped him off and then left.

Hataway was under scrutiny in another missing person case in Apopka. Onda "Chris" George vanished in Apopka a few months before Ocasio's disappearance. His remains were found in a lake. Hataway was one of the last people to see him alive.

He has not been charged in connection to either disappearance.

Last summer Hataway was sentenced to life in prison in an unrelated Seminole County attempted murder case. A woman who gave him a ride home in 2008 said Hataway reached in to give her a hug, but choked her instead. The woman broke free, but Hataway chased her down the street and slammed her head into the pavement.

Ocasio's family and George's mother were in court during the trial and rejoiced at the guilty verdict.

"The one thing we are pleased with is that the monster that took her from us is behind bars for life and can't hurt another 'daughter,'" Joe Ocasio wrote.

Ocasio's family is hopeful someone will now come forward with information about the disappearance so they can bring her home.

A $20,000 reward is offered in the case. Tipsters can remain anonymous by calling Crimeline at 1-800-423-8477.